Unshackled
by eternalfury
Summary: After Lawrence and Adam escape from the the hellhole of a Bathroom, they become closer and need each other more than ever. (chainshipping)
1. Chapter 1

Adam was in complete and utter darkness, pain coursing through him with the fresh wound on his shoulder from where the bullet had him. And the stench of rotting flesh was ripe. He sat in the corner still shackled by the chain that was binding him while rocking backwards and forwards gently. _Why? Why had this happened to_ _me?_ Adam thought. _What have I done to deserve this? Maybe that old geezer was right. I am pathetic._ he sighed burying his face in his hands. This was it. He was truly going to die in this godforsaken bathroom. He had lost the key to unlock this damned chain, he'd tried cutting it but with no avail. Although, he had one tiny ray of hope: Lawrence had gone to get help. But there was a slim chance that he'd actually find someone in time with the amount of blood he was losing. Still, hope was the last thing he had and he wasn't about to accept defeat just yet. Lawrence wouldn't let him down, He gave him his word after all.

Lawrence was in agony: his face was a ghostly white, his leg was burning with pain as blood trailed behind him as he crawled across the hallway. He wanted to stop, to just give up and perish, but he had a promise to keep. A promise that he'd made to Adam to come back for him. Filled with determination, he kept crawling until he reached a steam pipe. This was a perfect time to cauterize it. With much struggling he managed to sit himself upright, he pulled up his leg stump and pressed it to the boiling steam pipe: the pain was unbearable. Never in his life had Lawrence experienced this much felt like his leg was surely going to melt. after 2 minutes he pulled his now sealed leg stump away and leaned against the wall. Cold sweat was covering his whole body. He felt exhausted and his body was aching all over. He just wanted to go to sleep but he had to keep crawling…he had to. But his fatigue and weakness from blood loss had gotten the better of him as he slowly dozed off.

Adam was starting to get nervous now. Had Lawrence forgotten all about him? Had he managed to get help? Was he ok? Many questions swirled around in his head. All of this was fucking insane. This so called "game" as the madman had put it. The game that had driven Lawrence to severing his own foot and Adam having to witness it and hear his screams of agony. And to top it all off, the old "dead" guy had risen from the floor and walked right out of the room! T _his whole thing is just bizarre. What was that bastard trying to do by locking me and Lawrence up together? Why? What for? And why did the crazy old thing tell me where the key to the chain was?_ Suddenly his thoughts where interrupted by footsteps approaching. His heart hammered. Was it the FBI? He didn't want to call out in case it was another unwanted creep. The bathroom door slid open and a faint light emitted from the background along with a silhouette , his eyes trying to adjust to make out who it was. It certainly wasn't Lawrence, and it definitely wasn't a cop. It looked rather feminine.

"Adam?" she whispered. Stepping into the dark bathroom. "Are you alive? I'm here to help you"

He didn't respond. As he shut his eyes, if she knew that he was alive it was all over. He felt a bad aura on this woman. He heard her draw nearer and nearer. She knelt down to check if he was still breathing. Opening his eyes faintly he could see her touching his neck obviously for a pulse _get the fuck away from me!_ Adam thought furiously. He kept looking for any suspicious items on her, until he saw that she was carrying plastic.

She was going to suffocate him.

Suddenly jumped up, making the woman jump back in fright. She bounced back and got the plastic and tried to wrap it around his face but Adam was too quick for her. He tripped her with his own chain, she fell face first onto the cold bathroom floor. He got his chain and wrapped it around her neck tightly, He wasn't going to die today. Not if he could help it. He yanked even tighter, she gagged. "Why won't you die?!" he yelled. She just stared at him while coughing violently, her face turning purple. He gave a tighter tug then finally she went limp. Now that she was taken care of he began searching her pants for a key, He rummaged around until finally he had found it. He took it and undid his shackle that was binding him, he rubbed his ankle which now had a faint pink circular mark around it. Finally he was free. Next he had to find Lawrence to make sure he was alright. He ran out of the bathroom and set foot in what appeared to be a narrow dingy hallway. He kept walking but still no sign of Lawrence anywhere.

After what seemed like the umpteenth corner, he turned and he jumped back in surprise: Slumped up near a wall passed out was none other than Lawrence. He bent down to check his pulse, he was alive. Adam sighed with relief. Good, he was OK. Although he did feel fairly sweaty and clammy. He hoisted him up by the arms and put him over his shoulder, he staggered a bit under the weight, which is understandable because Lawrence was a much larger man than he was.

"Alright man Let's get out of this shithole".

He heaved him with a massive effort and off he went slowly but surely, through this nightmare of a dump. The hallway seemed endless and dark but he kept going, he had to keep going for the both of them. He had now reached the end of the hallway and into the living room; it was so filthy it made the bathroom look absolutely spotless and sanitary in comparison: the walls were all moldy and grimy, the wallpaper was peeling off, the curtains were ragged and moth eaten and the furniture was all dusty and ripped and shabby. Clearly no one had lived in here for a while. Anyway, Adam couldn't waste his time gawking, he needed to keep going. Lawrence's breathing was getting shallower by the minute and he had to act fast. It wasn't long until he reached the front door, panting from weakness and exhaustion as he pushed it open and breathed in the fresh evening air. Oh how good it was to be free. He stepped on outside on the narrow footpath with Lawrence still over his shoulder. He was too tired to try and find a phone booth so he decided to yell out for help.

"Hey! Anyone there? I need urgent help!"

5 minutes of calling for help, he thought all hope was lost. Until he heard footsteps approaching, it was most likely a jogger passing by,. He stopped in his tracks

"Hey! Can you help me?" asked Adam weakly to the stranger. "me and my friend here were held captive and we were held captive by a madman. We need urgent help

"Shit, of course man, the stranger said looking panicked at the state Adam and Lawrence were in, it certainly was a strange sight to take in: a younger frail looking dude hoisting another man around his shoulder. "I'll dial 911 right away."

"Oh, thank Christ….and make sure to tell them..to get…the foot.." Adam smiled weakly., taking Lawrence off his shoulders and laying him down gently on the ground. The man looked baffled.

And then he collapsed.


	2. Chapter 2

Terrible nightmares had plagued Adam. The screams of Lawrence still fresh in his mind, the sound of steel cutting through flesh, Blood plastered all over the floor. And cries for help.

 _"Lawrence please I'm begging you!"_

 _"You have to die"_

 _"No I want to live! I want to live!"_

 _"I'm sorry."_ and the trigger was pulled.

Adams eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, Cold sweat was running down his face, the dream had been so realistic that he wildly assumed he was in another one of these "games". he studied his surroundings, thankfully he was in a hospital in a warm bed with an IV cord connected to his arm his head was throbbing with pain along with his injured shoulder both wrapped securely in bandages. He was in pain, but it was nothing compared to what poor Lawrence was feeling.

"Ah you're finally awake I see!"

He turned his head around to see a motherly looking nurse approaching him

"Yeah, thankfully." said Adam, rubbing his eyes.

"You were out for two days." said the nurse checking his chart. "That must've been some fall you had."

"Two…Two days?" said Adam in disbelief.

"Oh yes. The blow to your head took a great impact on you. We've examined your head but there seems to be no major damage to the skull. It should heal in a few days time. Both you and Dr. Gordon were in very bad shape when we took you in."

"Wait…Lawrence is here? Can I see him?" asked Adam eagerly.

"I'm afraid is resting up in ward 201, He lost quite a lot of blood the poor man." the nurse replied. "It's a good thing he cauterized it when he did, a few more minutes and he would have been dead. We also managed to re-attach his foot so that's another bonus."

"Please, miss, I need to go see him. It's been 2 days since I've last seen him and we've both been through hell by a fucking nutcase. I need to see for myself that he's alright." Adam persisted.

Seeing genuine concern in his eyes, The nurse sighed. "Ok fine. But don't push yourself. Don't stay there too late."

Adam got up out of bet and took his IV cords out. As he stood up, is legs felt strangely wobbly. Gingerly putting one foot in front of the other, he started walking, looking for ward 201. The hallways he went through seemed endless. But he was making progress in finding that ward

Ward 194…195….196….197…198….199…

 _"I'm almost there"_

200…201.

Bingo.

Panting and out of breath, he entered the ward. It was fairly large and spacious. Much larger than his ward anyway. He looked around and saw that there was 3 people occupying it: One of them was a man that looked to be in his early 30s with a horrible 3rd degree burn on the left side of his face, the other seemed to be in his mid 50s covered in casting. And opposite him was none other than a sleeping Lawrence, he walked over to him, got a chair and sat down. The sight of him made him almost cry: His breathing was shallow and ragged, His foot was heavily casted and he looked somewhat cold. He got up quietly and searched for a linen closet or Drawers, anything that could contain extra blankets. After wandering around for several minutes rummaging every single draw and closet he finally found blankets. They looked nice and thick too. Perfect. He walked back over to Lawrence and gently covered him with them. He sat back down and looked at his sleeping figure sadly. He reached out and awkwardly held his hand.

 _"Poor dude went through so much. I really went through trauma too. But nothing compared to his. A madman kidnapping your family at gunpoint…listening to the screams of them on the phone…the only means of escaping was cut your own fucking foot off . I couldn't have done it. This man has courage and determination, something I don't have"_

A stirring of an awaking Lawrence interrupted his miserable thoughts. Adam froze.

"Who's…there?" said Lawrence, tired eyes still hazy and blurry. He blinked a few times until Adam came into focus. "Adam?" he said in disbelief.

"Adam!" Lawrence cried, pulling him into a hug.

"Yeah man it's me!" grinned Adam, hugging back tightly.

"How are you?" asked Lawrence.

"I feel like I've gotten ran over by a fucking bus, but other than that I'll pull though." said Adam sighing.

Lawrence chuckled. "Have you been eating? You don't look so good." He said, sounding concerned.

"I've tried eating. But everything here I try to eat tastes like nothing or is stone cold. Or both." Adam said."

"It certainly is quite bland I must agree." Lawrence concurred. "What happened to your head?" he asked."

"Oh, well, when I escaped that bathroom, I ran out and found you unconscious near some steam pipes and I put you over my shoulder and got us to safety. And I guess I got so exhausted that I ended up passing out and knocking myself out." Adam finished.

"You didn't have to do that Adam…" Said Lawrence softly, looking up at him warmly. "That's the second time you've saved me."

Adam waved a hand in dismissal. "forget about it man, you would've done the same for me. Point is is that we both survived. That's all that matters right?" he said.

"Come here" said Lawrence suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"Just come here" he repeated calmly.

Adam hesitated and walked slowly up to him. "Wow these doctors did a sloppy job of your bandages. They're not even put on properly and they haven't even changed it!" growled Lawrence as he examined Adam. "Now, I need you to do something. I need you to fetch me some new bandages and hurry back to me quickly. Adam obeyed and was slightly puzzled as he searched for new bandages in the supply closet and hurried back to Lawrence. "Good, you got them. Now put your head down on my chest."

"S-sorry?" stammered Adam, not sure if he had heard right.

"I said put your head down on my chest. I need you to do it so I can change your bandages. I can't really sit upright right now. I'm a tad bit weak " Said Lawrence with a shadow of a laugh in his face.

"Oh. Ok then." Said Adam as he placed his head on his chest; Lawrence started to undo the blood-stained bandages carefully and gently, he didn't want to cause the poor man more pain. Especially what he had just been through. Minutes later he had finished unwrapping, revealing his damaged head. "Now tell me…where does it hurt?" he asked gently.

"Mostly, at the back of my head." Replied Adam "It hurts like h- aghh!" he winced. Lawrence had started poking his head gently with his finger. The more he did it, the less painful it was.

"Ah just as I thought, you have a fractured skull. You'll be fine in a couple of weeks if you rest. Now give me those new bandages, I need to put them on you. Adam obeyed as Lawrence started to wrap his head in them.

"There, all done. Feel any better?"

"Sort of, yeah.

"good. We can't have you dying on me can we?" said Lawrence smiling and Adam couldn't help noticing that he had a glimmer in his eyes he had never seen before.

Adam chuckled. "No I guess not." He agreed.

"So, when did you come and see me?" asked Lawrence.

"Oh, as soon as I woke up, the nurse told me where to find you. I-I wanted to come and check on you..You know..To see if you were alright." Adam finished somewhat awkwardly looking down at his feet.

"Did you?" said Lawrence. "Well that was rather sweet of you."

Adam looked up and smiled. "Yeah no worries, anytime."

"You know, I wanted to go and visit you also but you know.." Lawrence trailed off, gesturing towards his foot.

"Nah don't worry about me man, think about yourself for a change." Adam said, half amused half serious.

"But I do worry about you. Have you had any visitors? Any family family or friends?" asked Lawrence.

"Not really no. My family and I aren't exactly close, and I can't really say I have friends because I've got none." Adam finished. "I'm pretty fucking pathetic huh?"

Lawrence looked at him sadly. Had he been like this all his life? All alone and isolated? He just wanted to give him a hug to show him that he mattered, that he was loved.

"Anyway enough of my shitty life, how's your family?" added Adam.

"Actually, I haven't seen or heard from Allison or Diana in some time." Lawrence said with a hint of sadness.

"Just give the them time, they'll come round sooner or later." reassured Adam, patting his hand reassuringly.

"I hope so."

They both stared at each other for a while in silence, smiling. Until Lawrence broke it.

"Listen Adam it's getting late. You better go back to your ward, you don't want the nurses to catch you out and about this late."

Adam jumped suddenly realizing that he had been in this ward for 3 hours straight and it was almost

7pm. He scurried to the door.

'Adam" said Lawrence suddenly.

"Y-yeah, Larry?"

"Thank you for visiting me. It means a lot to me." He said, smiling at him with that same twinkle in his eye. Adam flushed.

"No problem. I'll come back and visit you tomorrow ok?" said Adam.

"Yeah I'd like that very much. See you Adam"

"Yeah see you man." Adam smiled and he walked off back to his own ward.


End file.
